Russia and Turkey have said they have agreed to a ceasefire in Syria’s Idlib province after clashes left scores of Turkish and Syrian soldiers dead in a dangerous escalation of violence.

Speaking at the Kremlin, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that the ceasefire would begin at midnight on Thursday evening and that they hoped it would defuse tensions in the region.

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A Turkish fighter jet downed a Syrian regime warplane over the northwestern Idlib province Tuesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said, in the third such downing in three days.

Turkey on Sunday confirmed it had launched a military operation against Russia-backed regime forces in the border region, where Ankara supports some rebel groups.

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Turkish drone strikes in Syria’s Idlib province killed 19 regime soldiers on Sunday, a war monitor reported, as tensions soared between Damascus and Ankara.

The 19 died in strikes on a military convoy in the Jabal al-Zawiya area and a base near Maaret al-Numan city, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

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At least 33 Turkish soldiers have been killed in an air strike by “[Syian] regime forces” in north-western Syria, according to a Turkish official.

More were injured in the serious escalation of the conflict between Turkish and Russian-backed Syrian forces. It is believed the deaths and injuries followed a precision strike on a two-storey building in the village of Balioun.

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Turkey has launched ground and air attacks on Syrian troops after eight military personnel were shelled and killed in the north of the war-torn country, jeopardizing the Turkish leader President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s fragile security pact with Syria’s main ally, Russia.

“Those who test the determination of Turkey with such cowardly attacks will understand they are making a grave mistake,” Mr. Erdogan told Turkish television in Istanbul before flying out on a scheduled visit to Ukraine.

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